For Folk's Sake » Gideon Conn

Blog: Rare FM sessions: Dan Mangan, Gideon Conn, Hey Rosetta!

Lynn Roberts — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:33:40 +0000

Two of FFS’s writers Jonathan Wilson and Robbie Hayward present Super Strings Theory, a radio show on UCL’s student radio station Rare FM. The pair have brill taste in music and their blog is well worth a look.

As well as the radio shows (which you can listen to live on the website, Saturdays 2pm-4pm) the lads organise sessions and have had Dan Mangan, Hey Rosetta! and Gideon Conn gracing the Rare FM camera lenses so far.

Here’s Dan Mangan (FFS’s current voice crush) performing Tina’s Glorious Comeback from his album Nice Nice Very Nice (read our review).

You can see the other songs Dan Mangan played here. Also check out the Gideon Conn and Hey Rosetta! sessions.

EP: Gideon Conn – I Want You Around for this EP

Lynn Roberts — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:09:30 +0000

I’ve never really had much positive to say about British rap, or rap at all for that matter, but Gideon Conn’s unique sound is certainly refreshing for someone whose sensitive ears have only ever been subjected to the likes of Dizzee Rascal an’ Blazin’ Squad. So yes, I admit it, I don’t know much about rap but I do know that Gideon Conn is something special.

He has the air of G. Love and Special Sauce about him – relaxed lounge guitars, brassy production and bouncy keys. It’s the kind of rap that you wouldn’t mind your Gran hearing; inoffensive, yet blisteringly original. Now, a bit about the man himself. To put it simply Gideon is a bit of an oddball. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing his live shows you’ll know he’s that strange thing; a musician that hasn’t yet become disillusioned with life. In a way his lyrics fit in with this, they are simple and honest. Like a Manchester-born rapping Daniel Johnston he manages to put what he wants to say simply, albeit with haste. This simplicity pays dividends.

The characteristically quirky ‘Trademark’ sums up everything that makes this EP so worth listening to; its lyrically simple, musically upbeat and brilliantly produced, but most importantly it is probably the catchiest thing you’ve heard since Daphne & Celeste released U.G.L.Y.

Words: Jonathan Wilson

FFS Interview: Gideon Conn

Lynn Roberts — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:17:03 +0000

FFS: Huw Stevens’ twitter said recently that your album is coming out soon. Is that right? Can you tell us a bit about it, if so?

Gideon: Huw’s a nice bloke. The album is all recorded and finished and sounds great. It features 12 of my absolute best songs, performed by myself and my band, and has the potential to become a contemporary classic. I’m in the process of courting record labels so that it can get on shelves. Realistically it should be released at some point between December and May.

It’s great to hear the album’s on its way soon. We’ve been waiting a long time for it! FFS first saw you live at Glasto in 2007, and you had a tentfull of soggy, smelly festival-goers smiling their heads off and imitating electricity pylons within moments. How important to your act is the audience’s response? Is making people happy an important part of your music?

I think you’ve hot the nail on the head. Making people smile is key to my perfomances, and a song doesn’t have to be funny to get a smile. It can be sweet, soulfull, exciting, or simply a sound or a way of playing that the listener hasn’t heard before. That’s what I look for – a new sound, which i then team up with the best words i can find.

Pylons and wires is a good example of instinctive songwriting based on a moment of inspiration, and it makes people happy so it will always be one of my most treasured possessions.
The gig you refer to at glastonbury was a special moment. Over the months that followed I met people who had seen it and said that it was their highlight of the festival. There is no better compliment than that!

You don’t really fit into any one genre of music, but your songs seem to sit very happily alongside many different styles. What are your strongest influences, and can you hear particular acts/styles of music you like coming through in particular songs?

My influences are very wide ranging, often a specific song rather than an artist will capture my imagination and may go on to have an abstract bearing on a song that I write around that time. I dont want my songs to sound too similar to other songs though, so if I think they do I discard them.

I also spend a bit of time sight reading classical piano pieces for inspiration – thats where all the good stuff originates from. Here’s a selection of artists I love:

Soul – Stevie Wonder/Bill Withers
Jazz – Nat King Cole/ Louis Armstrong/ Count Basie
Hip Hop – Outkast/ The Roots
Indie – Maximo Park/ The Young Knives/ Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Your eclectic musical tastes are clearly reflected in your own songs, but you’ve also done a few covers in your time. What makes you choose to create your own version of a song like ‘Ms Jackson’ rather than use it as inspiration for your own work? What do you get out of doing covers that’s different from writing your own stuff?

I’ve been playing ‘Miss Jackson’ regularly since I learnt it years and years ago. I love playing it because it sounds nothing like the original but is totally recognisable. I think it works particularly well because of the energy I am able to put in to it. Learning other people’s songs is important in order to develop as an artist. Often a song will catch my ear and say ‘learn me!’ and I do, but they rarely make it into my gig sets because you have to hear the song in a totally different way in order to make it a worthwhile cover.

Interview: Lynn Roberts and Helen True

Gideon is touring in December, so you can catch up with the man in the flesh (which you only need do once to become totally hooked). Dates below.

13th December – Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
17th December – Borderline, London
19th December – Arts Institute, Cardiff
21st December – Masque, Liverpool
22nd December – MOHO, Manchester
31st December – Pure Groove, London

Gideon Conn documentary on TV tonight

Lynn Roberts — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:33:44 +0000

Manchester’s finest folk-hip-hop troubadour is to spread his sweetness on telly boxes all over the country tonight with a folkumentary on Channel M.

The fly-on-the-wall documentary is part of the series ‘Hitting Home’ produced by students at Salford University.

HItting Home is at 9pm tonight (28th July). Channel M is on Sky 203, Virgin Media 878, Free-to-air 39.

Words: Lynn Roberts

Blissfields announces folktastic line-up

Lynn Roberts — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:35:13 +0000

The lovely people at Blissfields have announced the first few acts for the Hampshire festival. And it’s good news for folk fans.

Confirmed artists include lovely Laura Marling, marvellous Mumford and Sons, charming Cherbourg, really-very-good Ryan O’Reilly and the brilliant beat-boxing hip-hop folk-funkster Gideon Conn.

As if all the music (and alliteration) weren’t enough, promoters Girls In Green Shoes are promising “A great local bar with real ales (pub prices),” and “The friendliest campsite of the summer.” Pub prices! At a festival! The friendliness sounds nice too.

The three-day festival takes place at Bradley Farm in Alresford, Hampshire on 3th-5th July.

FFS suggests getting in there quickly for tickets. A weekend adult with camping costs £45 including booking fees. Tickets are only available from the Blissfields website.

The full line-up so far is as follows:

Barefoot Confessor
Beans on Toast
Cherbourg
Echaskech
Gideon Conn
Hijera
Imperial Leisure
Laura Marling
Mumford and Sons
Rebel Control
Ryan O’Reilly
Subgiant
Scarlet Soho
The Ashbies
The Men They Couldn’t Hang
The Ramblings
Thomas Tantrum

Words: Lynn Roberts

Martha Wainwright and NATW play Liverpool Music Week

Lynn Roberts — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:07:26 +0000

Martha Wainwright, Noah and the Whale and Gideon Conn will play shows as part of Liverpool Music Week.

Noah and the Whale will play a free gig at Bumper on 31st October, supported by James Yulli and Gideon Conn will support Willey on 3rd November at his free show at Alma de Cuba.

Folk royalty Martha Wainwright will also be appearing at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, but the gig will set punters back £16-£22.50.

For more information click here.

Words: Lynn Roberts

Gideon Conn

Lynn Roberts — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:45:58 +0000

Gideon Conn is based in Manchester, and has been an increasingly familiar face at numerous festivals over the past few years. With his truly unique brand of acoustic rap, folk and hip-hop and his wide-eyed persona, Conn rarely fails to draw a smile from his captivated audience. His repertoire includes heart-warming tales of the mundane and everyday such as FFS favourite ‘The Man Who Drives Around Selling Fish’, as well as delightful single ‘I Want You Around’ and a number of truly stellar covers of bands such as the Black Eyed Peas.

Band: Nick Gosling – drums, percussion, beats; Joe \\”Archimedes\\” Harrison – bass, guitar, keyboard, harmonica; Jon Donohue – guitar, pedals ‘n’ fx, bass, keyboard; Wil Hesketh – decks; JJ Lees – coronet; Dan Hall – trombone.

Influences (he says): Anthony Bourdain and Howard Goodall and Bryn Terfyll.

Folk the south: Winchester Live

Lynn Roberts — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:10:52 +0000

Winchester (incidentally For Folk’s Sake’s hometown) is to play host to a plethora of folk favourites at the inaugural week-long Winchester Live festival.

Taking place across three venues in the city centre, the festival will comprise 11 gigs over the week beginning Monday 13th October.

The line-up includes Emmy the Great, Peggy Sue and the Pictures, Jay Jay Pistolet, Mumford and Sons and alt-folk’s best-kept secret Gideon Conn.

The gigs will take place at The Railway, Winchester University’s Vault and The Tower.

Wristbands for the whole week are priced £25 and are available through the event’s myspace.

The line-up so far:

Tuesday 14th October:
The Tower: Emmy The Great, Peggy Sue, The Wellbeing + Phil King.

Wednesday 15th October:
The Tower: Imperial Leisure, Django, Mavid Grind
The Railway: When The Lights Go Out present: Fox Cubs, Moneytree + The Scarlet Union

Thursday 16th October:
The Railway: Gideon Conn, Barefoot Confessor, The Gladrags + Blisskrieg

Friday 17th October:
The Tower: SixNationState, The Foxes, Shit! Hot Llamas + Alex & The Ligers

Saturday 18th October:
The Vault: Art Brut, Thomas Tantrum, Subliminal Girls, Soma High, Hijera + Fresh Legs
The Tower: Mumford & Sons, Jay Jay Pistolet, Ryan O’Reilly, Derek Meins, Beans on Toast, Cherbourg (formally Davie Fiddle), Thos Henley + Handshake
The Railway: Shaped By Fate, Eta Carinae + Incarna

Sunday 19th October:
The Tower: The Click Click, Rosie Oddie & The Odd Squad
The Railway: Die! Die! Die!, Run Walk!, Bright White Light

Words: Lynn Roberts

For Folk's Sake » Gideon Conn

Blog: Rare FM sessions: Dan Mangan, Gideon Conn, Hey Rosetta!

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